Table racket-and-fives apparatus.



PATENTED AUG. 4, 1903.

J. W. JONES. TABLE RAGKET AND FIVES APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 5. 1902.

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No.735,521. I PATENTBD AUG. 4; 1903. a

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TABLE RAGKBT AND FIVBS APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED IEB. 5, 1902.

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UNITED STATES l atented August 4, 1963.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN \VOOD JONES, OF SUMNER, NEW ZEALAND.

TABLE R ACKET-AND-FlV-ES APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 735,521, dated August 4, 1903.

Application filed February 5, 1902. serial No. 92,756. (No model.)

To (ZZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OHN WOOD J ONES, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Sumner, Canterbury, in the Colony of New Zealand, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Table Racket-and-Fives Apparatus; and I hereby declare the followingv to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention provides cheap, simple, and conveniently-portable apparatus whereby the game of rackets and fives, usually played in a racket-and-fives court, can be played upon an ordinary dining-table or the like, using the top thereof as the court.

The invention consists of a collapsible frame having suitable close netting or open material of a resilient nature, such as cheesecloth, leno, or analogous material, secured thereto. Top and bottom rails of said frame are hinged to the uprights and are made in two parts hinged together to enable the frame to be folded up. When opened out and placed upon a table-top, which provides a surface on which to form a court, the members of the frame are held rigidly together by suitable hasps or catches, the sides forming wings being set at the requisite angle.

In the accompanying drawings, Figurel is a rear elevation of the frame when opened out. Fig. 2 is a plan of the frame when opened out, one half showing top rails and the other half showing the bottom rails. Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan of one of the corner-posts, showing the mode of attaching the close netting or open material. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is a part side elevation of same. Fig. 6 is a view of frame folded up to be'carried, the netting not being'shown in order to better illustrate the jointed framework. Figs. 7 and 8 are to a smaller scale and are a plan and section, respectively, of atable, showing arrangement of tapes for indicating courts, the frame being shown in position in Fig. 7. l

The front and rear uprights 1 and 2 and the top and bottom rails 3 and 4 are preferably of wood, and the rails are attached to the uprights by means of hinges 5, the rear uprights 2 being beveled, as shown, upon one side, so that the rails of the sides always maintain a definite angle with the back. The rails at the top and bottom at both the front and the rear are each in two parts and connected by hinges 6, which are screwed upon the upper side of the top rails and on the lower side of the bottom rails to enable each set of rails to fold inwardly. The netting or other resilient material 7 is either sewed around or otherwise secured to the front uprights 1, but is preferably passed around each of the rear uprights 2, the portions forming the sides and back, respectively, being brought together in front of each upright and sewed. A piece of tape 8 is sewed on each side to strengthen the part where the stitching is efiected. The material is carried around the uprights and brought together upon the inside of the frame, as described, in order to keep the balls used in the game from striking the uprights. Tapes 9 are attached to the netting, by which it is tied to and strained between the top and bottom rails. The netting between the two rear uprights has two horizontal black lines thereon, the upper, 10, termed the service-line and the lower, 11, the play line. When opened out, the frame is held firmly in position by means of hooks 12, pivoted upon the bottom rails of the back and taking into eyes 13 upon the bottom rails of the sides.

Hasps or catches are also used to stifien the frame at the hinge-joints, one being used un= der the joints of each top rail and one over the joints of each of the bottom rails and one at each of the joints of the side rails. Said hasps'or catches consist of a strip of metal 14., pivoted at one end upon a wood-screw 15 and having a notch 16 at the opposite end, which takes over a wood-screw 17, screwed into the frame.

To erect the apparatusin forming the court, the frame may be placed upon the floor and the back uprights extended, bringing the rails into a horizontal position. The hasp under the top middle hinge is then adjusted to secure the rails in position. The side wings are then similarly dealt with, the'hooks and eyes at corners adjusted, and the tension of the netting regulated by the tapes. The frame is then ready to beplaced upon the table. the frame to the table.

As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the table-top is No fastenings are necessary to secure divided into courts indicated by a tape 18, which is passed around the table and buckled atits ends, and by tapes 19, each having an eye threading upon tape 18, the opposite end of one tape having a buckle which receives the end of the other.

The frame when removed from the table can be folded into comparatively small compass, as shown in Fig. 6, by unfastening the hasps or catches of the top and bottom rails and folding the sections inwardly between the uprights.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1. A table racket-and-fives apparatus comprising a collapsible frame having front and rear uprights and top and bottom sectional hinged rails located between the front and rear uprights and between the rear uprights, and resilient material stretched upon and secured to the frame.

2. A table racket-and-fives apparatus comprising a collapsible frame having front and rear uprights and top and bottom rails located between the front and rear uprights and between the rear uprights, each rail being formed in sections hinged together and to the adjacent uprights, and resilient material stretched upon and secured to the frame.

3. A table racket-and-fives apparatus comprising a collapsible frame having rear uprights beveled on their inner sides to permit the sides of the frame to assume a definite angle, frontuprights, and top and bottom sectional hinged rails located between the front and rear uprights and between the rear uprights, and resilient material stretched upon and secured to the frame.

4. A table racket-aud-fives apparatus comprising a collapsible frame having front and rear uprights, top and bottom rails located between the front and rear uprights and between the rear uprights, each rail being formed in sections hinged together and to the adjacent uprights, so as to fold inwardly against the latter, and catches secured to the sections of the rails at their meeting edges opposite to the hinges which connect the sections of the rails, and resilient material stretched upon and secured to the frame.

5. A table racket-and-fives apparatus comprising a collapsible frame having front and rear uprights and top and bottom rails located between the front and rear uprights and between the rear uprights, each rail being formed in sections hinged togetherand to the adjacent uprights, eyes secured to the rails adjacent to the rear uprights, hooks extending across the rear uprights and engaging the eyes, and resilient material stretched upon and secured to the frame.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN WOOD JONES.

Witnesses:

A. H. HART, L. RoY SMITH. 

